Pedestrian footwear cleaner

ABSTRACT

A footwear cleaner utilizing a plurality of foot operated vacuum controls which cause suction to be directed at the foot of a pedestrian. The device comprises a foot support grid and individually operated zoned vacuum directing means and preferably also includes reciprocation footwear contacting elements which project upwardly through the grid to mechanically loosen dirt from the bottom of the pedestrian&#39;&#39;s feet. Air flow downwardly around the footwear carries the dirt to a vacuum actuated dirt collection system.

United States Patent Harris [451 Mar. 21, 1972 [54] PEDESTRIAN FOOTWEARCLEANER [72] lnventor: Ewell J. Harris, Sunset Mobile Homes Route 3, Box135A, Adrian, Mich. 49221 [22] Filed: Nov. 9, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 88,009

[52] U.S.Cl ..15/311, 15/37 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47l 7/02 [58] Field ofSearch ..15/300, 301, 303, 308, 310, 15/311, 37, 36, 4,112,161, 216,217, 215,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,361,068 12/1920 Karro..15/3l1 Gerard 15/37 Darby Shearer, Sr. ..15/3l0 Primary Examiner-LeonG. Machlin Attorney-William P. Hickey [57] ABSTRACT A footwear cleanerutilizing a plurality of foot operated vacuum controls which causesuction to be directed at the foot of a pedestrian. The device comprisesa foot support grid and individually operated zoned vacuum directingmeans and preferably also includes reciprocation footwear contactingelements which project upwardly through the grid to mechanically loosendirt from the bottom of the pedestrians feet. Air flow downwardly aroundthe footwear carries the dirt to a vacuum actuated dirt collectionsystem.

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560644 J Hflkk/S Errata/er PEDESTRIAN FOOTWEAR CLEANER BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION A large amount of dirt is carried into dwellings and publicbuildings on the bottom of the feet of people having ingress thereto.The art has long used stationary floor mats over which pedestrians walk,but these mats do little by way of scraping the bottom of the footwear,and do not carry the dirt away from the mat so as to prevent pick up bythe footwear of a subsequent pedestrian. Mechanical floor mats of thetype shown in US. Pat. No. 2,860,366 have been proposed to provide apower driven scrubbing action for the bottom of footwear. The dirtscrubbed free is caused to drop downwardly into a pan of water whichcollects the dust. A slow velocity downward air flow draws the dirt intothe water so that the device discharges clean air.

The art has also used large grid systems over which pedestrians pass andhave either drawn air downwardly through these grids, or blowing airupwardly at the feet of the operator to dry the feet of pedestrians. Thegrids of these systems cover a large area in order that the pedestriansfeet will have a plurality of exposures to the grid. Because the gridscover a large area, air flow therethrough affects the entire person ofthe pedestrian, and the air velocity therethrough must be kept lowenough so as not to disarray the pedestrians apparel. In addition, suchsystems, even though incapable of utilizing intense suction because oftheir size, move large quantities of air which affects the temperatureof the building locale in which it is situated, and have large powerrequirements to move the air and heat the building locale in which it issituated.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a new andimproved device for cleaning the feet of pedestrians which produces anintense air flow over an area confined generally to the sides of thefeet of the pedestrians standing thereon.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improveddevice of the above mentioned type which additionally provides ascrubbing action to the bottom of the feet being cleaned.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a new andimproved arrangement of support grid and scrubbing elements wherein thegrid and elements are affixed to respective frames which can be easilyand quickly removed by lifting upwardly out of their supportingstructure.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art to which the invention relates from thefollowing description of preferred embodiments described with referenceto the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pedestrianfootwear cleaner embodying principals of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately on the line2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately on the line3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately on the line55 ofFIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 5 but showingstill another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiment shown in FIGS.1, 2 and 3 generally comprises a grid 10 formed of a plurality ofparallel bars 12 connected together by a rectangular frame 14 formingpart of its support structure. The embodiment also includes a mechanicaldirt removal structure comprising a plurality of footwear contactingelements 16 respective ones of which are located between respectiveparallel bars 12. In the embodiment shown, each footwear contactingelement includes a row of brushes 18 which project up out from betweenthe bars 12 for engagement with the footwear. The footwear contactingelements 16 are connected together at one end by projections 20 whichare received in a transverse bar 22 that is reciprocated by a crank arm24 and connecting rod 26. The crank arm 24 is rotated by an electricmotor 28, the actuation of which will be later described. The other endof the contacting elements 16 extend into guide structure, not shown,that is carried by the opposite end member of the frame 14.

According to principles of the invention, the feet of pedestrians arecleaned by means of high intensity suction that is directed to, andgenerally confined to the area immediately surrounding, the foot beingcleaned. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, this is accomplished bysuction from a suction chamber that is supplied with a partial vacuum.In the embodiment shown, the suction chamber 30 is located directlybeneath the grid 10. The suction chamber 30 has a top enclosure plate 32spaced a sufficient distance beneath the bars 12 to allow room fortransverse support members 34. The support members 34 are notched out asat 36 for the bars 12 so as to provide both bearing support and lateralstability for the bars. In the embodiment shown, the bottom of thefootwear contacting elements 16 rest upon the top surface of thetransverse supports 34 to additionally carry the load of these elements.

Suction from the suction chamber 30 is directed to the footwear to becleaned by flow directing means that include a valve structure 38 in thetop enclosure plate 32 and the vertically extending transverse supports34 and lateral braces 40 therebetween. The valves 38 are spaceduniformly between the supports 34 and braces 40 and each is opened by anactuating pin 42 which extends upwardly through a guide 44 between apair of elements 16 to the region above the footwear contacting elements16. The top of the actuating pin 42 is provided with a smoothly roundedfoot plate 46 preferably having gradually sloping ends aligned in thedirection of pedestrian movement. The foot plates 46, therefore, do notprovide an abrupt end surface that can be engaged by the footwear. Apedestrian walking over the grid 10, therefore, steps upon the footplate 46 to move the actuating pin downwardly and open a valve 38.

The valves 38 may be constructed in various ways, but as shown, isformed from a flat plate 48 having a rubber seal 50 on its top surfacewhich is forced up into engagement with the portion of the top enclosureplate 32 which surrounds the valve opening 52. The plate 48 is biasedinto its closed position by means of a spring 54, one end of which issecured to the plate 48, and the other end of which is affixed to thetop enclosure plate 32 as by fastener 56. The valves 38 are spacedclosely enough that a child s foot placed anywhere on the grid 10 willcontact at least one of the actuating foot plates 46. The plate valves38 provide a large flow opening for a small amount of opening movement,and are to be preferred, therefore. In the embodiment shown, theprojections 20 of the foot contacting elements extend through generallyair tight guide openings so that the motor and the drive structure forthe projections 20 can be located out of the vacuum submerged structure.Alternatively, the grid structure 10 can be provided with a top plateand housing which encases the motor 28 and its reciprocation producingstructure.

The suction chamber 30 is provided with an outlet 58 which communicateswith a dirt filter 60 through which air is evacuated by commercialsuction or vacuum producing equipment 62 having an impeller or impellerscapable of producing a vacuum preferably in excess of three inches ofwater. The vacuum producing equipment 62 can be run continually, or insome instances an electric eye directed at pedestrians stepping onto thegrid 10 can be used to stop and start both the motor 28 and the vacuumproducing equipment 62. One of the advantages of the present invention,however, is that the inlet to the vacuum producing equipment is normallyclosed off by the valves 38 except during use, so that the vacuumproducing equipment can run continuously under substantially no load.

For small and intermediate size equipment, therefore, it will beeconomical to run the vacuum producing equipment 62 continually whilethe doors to the building in which it is installed are open or are beingused. The equipment 62, therefore, can conveniently be stopped andstarted by a door actuated switch. In large size equipment, it will beeconomical to provide a vacuum reservoir 64 having capacity sufficientto remove the dirt from the feet of one or more pedestrians whose feetmake at least two contacts with the grid 10. In the embodiment shown inthe drawing, the vacuum reservoir 64 is provided by a sealed basementroom that is evacuated by the vacuum producing device 62, and the vacuumin which is controlled by a suitable switch, not shown, which stops andstarts the vacuum producing device 62. Inasmuch as the basement room 64follows the dust filter 60, it will be kept substantially clean. Thevacuum producing device 62 can be located within the room 64 so thatonly its outlet need be sealed with respect to the walls thereof.

The valves 38 are preferably located sufficiently close together that anadults foot placed anywhere upon the grid will engage at least one ofthe actuating plates 46. The bars 12 preferably extend in the directionof pedestrian movement so as to avoid all possible tripping hazards, andthe device will have a sufficient length so that with normal strideseach foot of a pedestrian will engage the grid 10 at least two times.The foot of a pedestrian when brought down upon the grid engages anactuating plate 46 to open a valve 38 and thereby communicate thepartial vacuum of the suction chamber 30 to the area surrounding thefoot which actuated the plate 46. As previously explained, thetransverse supports 34 and lateral braces 40 can be used as part of adirecting means for the flow over the actuating foot. A high intensityair flow is thereby produced around the side edges of the footdownwardly through the space between the bars 12. Where the deviceincludes the mechanical dirt removing structure, the air flow will passthrough the space between the foot contacting elements l6 and the bars12 as shown in FIG. 2. The foot contacting elements 16 may utilizescrubbing structures other than brushes 18, but will have sufficientflexibility as to allow the foot of the pedestrian to bear against thetop of the bars 12. As previously indicated, however, high intensity airflow over the foot produces a sufficient cleaning and/or drying actionthat mechanical dirt removing structure need not always be provided, orif provided, need not always be reciprocated.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is generally similar to theembodiment shown in FIGS. 1,2 and 3, but differsprincipally therefrom inthat the foot contacting elements are secured to and carried by asurrounding frame. Those portions of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and5 which correspond to similar portions of the embodiment shown in FIGS.1,2 and 3 are designated by a like reference numeral characterizedfurther in that a subscript a" is affixed thereto. The frame 14aincludes transverse members 70 which extend past the bars 12a and carrythe elements 16a The bars 12a stop short of the frame 14a and thetransverse bars 70, and the total support for the bars 12a is providedby the transverse supports 34a In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,therefore, the foot contacting elements 16a can be easily removed andrepaired by lifting the frame 14a out of position, thereby remove all ofthe elements 16a simultaneously. Thereafter either a new frame 14a canbe lowered in position, or particular elements 16a can be removed fromthe frame and replaced, and the repaired frame 14a lowered in positionfor continued service. The frame 140 is supported for reciprocatorymovement by upper and lower raceways 72 and 74 and ball bearings 76positioned therebetween. The bottom raceways 74 may be carried by anysuitable structure and is shown in the drawings as carried by theoutside frame 78 which projects upwardly from the outside edges of thetop enclosure plate 32a of the suction chamber 30a. The top edge of aseal 80 is fixed to the frame 14a and the lower portion of the seal 80is free to reciprocate over the outer surface of the frame 78.Additional raceways and ball bearings may be positioned on the lateralbraces 40. A loop seal, not shown, may be provided at opposite ends ofthe frame 14a, and the loop seal at the end adjacent the motorpreferably extends to stationary structure which surrounds the motor28a. It will, therefore, be seen that a structure is provided whereinall of the foot engaging elements are fixed to a frame which can beremoved by simply raising the frame to lift the elements 16a out frombetween the fixed parallel bars 120. It will further be seen thatreciprocation of the elements 16a is easily accomplished by suitablestructure that is affixed to the frame 140.

A still further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6 of thedrawings. The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is generally similar to thatshown in FIGS. 4 and 5, but differs principally therefrom in that thebars are fixed to the outside frame and the foot contacting elements arefixed to a second frame positioned beneath the pedestrian support frame.Those portions of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 which correspond tosimilar portions of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are designatedby a like reference numeral characterized further in that a suffix b isaffixed thereto. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the elements 16b aremounted on the top surface of a horizontal plate 82 having openings 84therethrough to communicate vacuum from the valves 38b to the grid 10b.The plate 82 in addition to being supported by the raceways 7211 at theoutside edges thereof can additionally be supported by similar racewayspositioned over the lateral braces 40b. In the embodiment shown in FIG.6, therefore, the supports 12b are fixed to and can be removedsimultaneously with the frame 14b and the foot contacting elements 16bare all fixed to another structure 82 which can also be removed as asingle piece following removal of the frame 14b.

It will now be seen that the objects heretofore enumerated as well asothers have been accomplished and that there has been providedpedestrian footwear cleaning structure that is efficient in operation inthat it can confine high intensity air flow to the region of the footbeing cleaned. It will further be seen that inexpensive mechanicalcleaning structure is provided which is economic to manufacture in thatthe structure has fixed frames which can be installed and replaced as aunit. It will still further be seen that the foot cleaning structure maybe a part ofa building which utilizes a room of the building as a vacuumreservoir chamber.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail, I do notwish to be limited to the particular embodiments shown and described,and it is my intention to cover hereby all novel adaptations,modifications and arrangements thereof which come within the practice ofthose skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

I claim:

1. A pedestrian footwear cleaner comprising: a first set oflongitudinally extending spaced apart foot engaging members forsupporting the weight of a pedestrian, a second set of Iongitudinallyextending spaced apart foot engaging members positioned between saidfirst foot engaging members, said second set of members having scrubbingstructures thereon projecting upwardly of said first set of members,means providing relative longitudinal movement between said first andsecond sets of members, a suction chamber positioned beneath said firstand second sets of foot engaging members, a plurality of valves in thetop of said suction chamber, air flow directing partitions surroundingsaid valves and extending upwardly from said suction chamber to one ofsaidsets of foot engaging members for generally sealing engagementtherewith to form individual foot communicating compartments, and aplurality of foot actuated valve opening means respective ones of whichare positioned within respective foot communicating compartments foropening a respective valve upon foot engagemerit therewith.

2. The pedestrian footwear cleaner of claim 1 wherein said first andsecond sets of members extend longitudinally in the direction ofpedestrian movement, said cleaner extending a distance at least equal toa pedestrian stride so that both feet of pedestrians striding over saidcleaner engage said cleaner at least once, and said air flow directingpartitions including transverse members to divide the directing meansinto compartments that are approximately the size of footwear and whichare arranged longitudinally of said cleaner.

3. The cleaner of claim 2 wherein said first set of members is connectedtogether to form a grid with individual ones of said first set ofmembers being in engagement with said air flow directing partitions.

4. The pedestrian footwear cleaner of claim 2 wherein adjacentlongitudinally extending top and bottom surfaces of said flow directingmeans and said one of said sets of foot engaging members cooperatingtherewith are provided with longitudinally extending grooves which faceeach other, and a plurality of ball bearings in said grooves forsupporting said one ofsaid sets of members.

5. The cleaner of claim 4 wherein said second set of members isconnected together in a frame, said frame having longitudinallyextending grooves in the bottom thereof which overlie grooves in saidflow directing means and receive said ball bearings.

6. The cleaner of claim 5 wherein said first set of members is connectedtogether in a frame which is fixedly supported relative to said firstmentioned frame.

7. A building having a pedestrian footwear cleaner comprising: a firstset of longitudinally extending spaced apart foot engaging members in afloor of said building for supporting the weight of a pedestrian, asecond set of longitudinally extending spaced apart foot engagingmembers positioned in said floor between said first foot engagingmembers, said second set of members having scrubbing structures thereonprojecting upwardly of said first set of members, a suction chamberpositioned beneath said first and second sets of foot engaging membersand communicating with a sealed room in said building, a plurality ofvalves in the top of said suction chamber, air flow directing partitionssurrounding said valves and extending upwardly from said suction chamberto one of said sets of foot engaging members for generally sealingengagement therewith to form individual foot communicating compartments,a plurality of foot actuated valve opening means respective ones ofwhich are positioned within respective foot communicating compartmentsfor opening a respective valve upon foot engagement therewith, and meansdrawing a partial vacuum on said room.

1. A pedestrian footwear cleaner comprising: a first set oflongitudinally extending spaced apart foot engaging members forsupporting the weight of a pedestrian, a second set of longitudinallyextending spaced apart foot engaging members positioned between saidfirst foot engaging members, said second set of members having scrubbingstructures thereon projecting upwardly of said first set of members,means providing relative longitudinal movement between said first andsecond sets of members, a suction chamber positioned beneath said firstand second sets of foot engaging members, a plurality of valves in thetop of said suction chamber, air flow directing partitions surroundingsaid valves and extending upwardly from said suction chamber to one ofsaid sets of foot engaging members for generally sealing engagementtherewith to form individual foot communicating compartments, and aplurality of foot actuated valve opening means respective ones of whichare positioned within respective foot communicating compartments foropening a respective valve upon foot engagement therewith.
 2. Thepedestrian footwear cleaner of claim 1 wherein said first and secondsets of members extend longitudinally in the direction of pedestrianmovement, said cleaner extending a distance at least equal to apedestrian stride so that both feet of pedestrians striding over saidcleaner engage said cleaner at least once, and said air flow directingpartitions including transverse members to divide the directing meansinto compartments that are approximately the size of footwear and whichare arranged longitudinally of said cleaner.
 3. The cleaner of claim 2wherein said first set of members is connected together to form a gridwith individual ones of said first set of members being in engagementwith said air flow directing partitions.
 4. The pedestrian footwearcleaner of claim 2 wherein adjacent longitudinally extending top andbottom surfaces of said flow directing means and said one of said setsof foot engaging members cooperating therewith are provided withlongitudinally extending grooves which face each other, and a pluralityof ball bearings in said grooves for supporting said one of said sets ofmembers.
 5. The cleaner of claim 4 wherein said second set of members isconnected together in a frame, said frame having longitudinallyextending grooves in the bottom thereof which overlie grooves in saidflow directing means and receive said ball bearings.
 6. The cleaner ofclaim 5 wherein said first set of members is connected together in aframe which is fixedly supported relative to said first mentioned frame.7. A building having a pedestrian footwear cleaner comprising: a firstset of longitudinally extending spaced apart foot engaging members in afloor of said building for supporting the weight of a pedestrian, asecond set of longitudinally extending spaced apart foot engagingmembers positioned in said floor between said first foot engagingmembers, said second set of members having scrubbing structures thereonprojecting upwardly of said first set of members, a suction chamberpositioned beneath said first and second sets of foot engaging membersand communicating with a sealed room in said building, a plurality ofvalves in the top of said suction chamber, air flow directing partitionssurrounding said valves and extending upwardly from said suction chamberto one of said sets of foot engaging members for generally sealingengagement therewith to form individual foot communicating compartments,a plurality of foot actuated valve opening means respective ones ofwhich are positioned within respective foot communicating compartmentsfor opening a respective valve upon foot engagement therewith, and meansdrawing a partial vacuum on said room.